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Detroit’s
Future
at
Stake:
Sheffield
and
Kinloch
Clash in
Final
Election
Push
Li Haung
- Local
Politics
Tell Us
Detroit
News
DETROIT
-
Detroit
votes
tomorrow.
After
more
than a
decade
under
three-term
Mayor
Mike
Duggan,
the city
faces
its
first
open-seat
mayoral
race in
over ten
years—and
the
choice
before
voters
couldn't
be
starker.
On
one side
stands
Mary
Sheffield,
the
establishment
candidate.
As
Detroit
City
Council
President,
she's
been
embedded
in city
government
since
2013,
promising
steady
progress
on
public
safety,
affordable
housing,
and
neighborhood
restoration.
She has
the
endorsement
of the
outgoing
mayor, a
commanding
lead in
the
polls,
and a
financial
advantage
that
dwarfs
her
opponent's.
On
the
other
stands
Rev.
Solomon
Kinloch
Jr., a
political
outsider
and
senior
pastor
of the
Triumph
Church
network.
He's
running
on
transformation.
End food
deserts.
Build
10,000
new
affordable
homes.
Launch
job
training
programs
paying
$35 an
hour.
His
message
is
simple:
Detroit
needs
fresh
start,
not
continuity.
The
numbers
suggest
Sheffield's
path to
victory
is
well-paved.
Mid-October
polling
showed
her
leading
65% to
14%
among
likely
voters.
Early
absentee
ballots
tell an
even
starker
story:
Sheffield
winning
73% to
18%,
banking
a
commanding
lead
before
Election
Day even
arrived.
Yet
the real
wildcard
isn't
the
polling—it's
turnout.
Projections
suggest
only
15-16%
of
registered
voters
will
cast
ballots
tomorrow,
a
historically
low
figure
that
scrambles
traditional
political
calculations.
In such
a thin
electorate,
momentum
and
message
can
matter
as much
as
money.
Both
candidates
carry
baggage.
Sheffield
has
faced
scrutiny
over her
City
Council
attendance
and
ethics
questions
regarding
gifts.
Kinloch
must
reckon
with a
past
assault
conviction
and
questions
about
unpaid
utility
bills at
church
properties
he's
connected
to.
But
those
vulnerabilities
pale
beside
the
central
tension
driving
this
race.
Three
issues
dominate
voter
concerns:
public
safety
remains
residents'
number
one
priority,
followed
by
economic
opportunity
in a
city
still
gripped
by
poverty,
and the
desperate
shortage
of
affordable
housing.
Sheffield
addresses
these
through
the lens
of
experienced
management.
Kinloch
through
the
promise
of bold,
systemic
change.
The
referendum
is
clear:
Does
Detroit
want to
continue
on its
current
trajectory,
or does
it want
to
gamble
on
transformation?
The
answer
arrives
tomorrow
night.
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